The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

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Directed by Michael Ritchie (The Candidate) with an eye toward his terrific 1970s legacy of social and political satires, this 1993 HBO comedy stars Holly Hunter as the real-life Texas woman who solicited a killer to aid her daughter's dream of becoming a high school cheerleader. Hunter is remarkable in the lead, somehow both scary and sympathetic. But it is Ritchie who gets to the heart of the matter in the aftermath of the murder, when there is a mad scramble by the media and Hollywood to package the absurdist atrocity for their own ends. One of the director's more biting studies of the shadow side of ritual Americana, this is not for anyone looking for a bull docudrama. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Has Holly ever won an award?.......2007-03-06

If not, she should. One of the few actresses today who consistently turn's in top notch performances. I think this story was taken from a real news story. Frightening, hiliarous, black comedy. A true view of humanity at it worst. Hysterical cheerleader Mom, who was never a cheerleader herself and suffered the humiliation as a young girl of never being good enough to be in the click, is fiercely determined to make sure her daughter becomes one of the golden few, no matter the cost. Excellent performances buy the whole cast. Enjoy!

YOU'VE UPGRATED THE ACTRESS... NOW, LET'S DOWNGRADE THE MOTHER........2006-07-17

MY FEELING ON THIS MOVIE AND THE REAL-LIFE EVENTS IS THAT WANDA HOLLOWAY IS A LIAR AND JUST PLAINE STUPID. SHE IS A COMPLETE MENTAL CASE AND SOCIALBATHILISTIC EMBARASSMENT TO HUMAN KIND. IF SHE WAS THEN BACK IN 1991 SO INNOCENT, THEN WHY HAVE THE GUTS TO GO OVER TO THIS MAN'S HOUSE WANTING TO TALK ABOUT RIDDING EITHER VERNA HEATH OR HER DAUGHTER OR BOTH. HELL, WANDA DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO TALK IN THIS MAN'S HOUSE, INSTEAD, SHE HAS THIS GUY MEET HER IN THE PARKING LOT OF A PLACE CALLED GRANDY'S OR SOMETHING LIIKE THAT. IT IS JUST 100% CLEAR THAT SHE WAS NOT STABLE, BUT KNEW EXCACTLY WHAT SHE WAS DOING WHEN THESE EVENT TOOK PLACE. AND IF SHE WAS SO INNOCENT, THEN MY QUESTION TO HER WOULD BE THIS... WHY EVEN TALK ABOUT IT AT ALL.

Everything is bigger in Texas.............2006-04-05

And this movie is no exception. Holly Hunter is fantastic, as she is in everything she does (also loved her as Billie Jean King in "When Billie Beat Bobbie" among others). She is so deadpan in Wanda's warped logic, that it draws you in to what made this woman really commit this crime. She actually felt justified!

Of course, the movie is hilariously weird and the title alone is a conversation starter.

I went to school with these people!.......2006-01-20

It is my understanding that Holly Hunter never met Wanda Holloway before she made this movie. If that was true, then she deserves every award she gets. Her portrayal of Wanda was TOP NOTCH! I went to Channelview High School with Wanda, Terry and Tony Harper. If you watch this movie for no other reason than Miss Hunters performance, you will not be unsatisfied. Of course, Hollywood made everyone else look like a cartoon.
As fine an actor as Beau Bridges is, no one could do justice to a character like Terry Harper.
This is NOT a documentary, folks!

Positively Unbelievable!.......2005-06-07

Well, blow me over! I was stunned! I bought this dvd in a supermarket for less than I've ever paid before, expecting nothing much, purely on the basis of the peculiar title and the name of Holly Hunter. It's an absolute masterpiece: story, direction, acting, the lot! Made 13 years ago, and I'd never heard of it. One of the mothers talks about skill, not promotion, and that must be it. Tons of skill, no promotion. It is simply too good to be plugged, and its reputation can only get steadily better: see the other reviews --- a chorus of agreement. Holly is amazing, and everyone else is just perfect. Every scene is a delight: weirdly true and truly weird. This goes straight into the small group of films that I regard as the best ever.

Later. Well, I just have to add something to try to work out just what makes this movie so perfect. Basically, it must be down to the writing, which is superb. The dialogue never puts a foot wrong. These characters are fully rounded, totally developed, highly comic, yet incredibly real. Everything in the relationships is understated, subtle, accurately observed, and convincing. You feel you know exactly what these people are like, and can visualize precisely how this bizarre situation arose. Holly's performance is out of this world. The scene in the car with Beau Bridges is one of the two or three funniest I have ever seen. You know that Wanda doesn't really believe what she is saying, yet at the same time she really does want Verna gone. Verna's reactions are just as brilliant, and the slide into celebrity status of all the participants, including the school kids, is so accurate it hurts. The family atmosphere in the Holloway household is spot on; and the boy's performance is particularly good. What a consummate work of art!

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